The Minnesota Timberwolves are working to fulfill Jimmy Butler’s trade request, but questions are beginning to arise about whether their efforts will be enough to facilitate a deal.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported on Thursday that the asking price the Timberwolves have placed on Butler is too steep for interested teams. So steep, in fact, that some teams are questioning whether head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau actually wants to work out a trade.
ESPN Reporting w/ Zach Lowe: Minnesota’s asking price for Jimmy Butler remains too steep for teams. Minny seeks quality vets/top prospects/future assets/cap relief. Too high a price for interested teams, including Miami. Sources are skeptical of Thibodeau’s desire to make deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 27, 2018
We know Thibodeau met with Butler in an attempt to get the star swingman to change his mind, but it doesn’t sound like he had much luck. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is said to be involved in trade talks surrounding Butler and does not want to give off the impression that there is dysfunction within the organization, so he is willing to grant Butler’s wish.
Butler clearly wants out and reportedly has one team at the top of his list of preferred destinations, which has likely given the Timberwolves little to no leverage in trade talks. With teams knowing they can just try to sign Butler next year when he inevitably opts out of his contract, there’s not much incentive to give up a massive package to acquire him.
